Gone Fishin’- A Peek-a-Boo Project

A neighbor lady likes to say “Fishing is the greatest excuse in the world to do nothing” I’ve never been a fan of fishing but my grandpappies, Da, Ralph and Frank were dabblers of the sport. Maybe if the fish were a bit more colorful than the rainbow trouts we’d catch I’d be a bit more intrigued. These are the inspirations for this artwork.

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Trace Back of GSLC Arabian Triptych on Colorful Magazine Images. 
   
3. Rip and Tear Magazine Images Gluing to SLC Arabian Triptych Back.
   
4. Find Fish and Coral Images in Sticker Books to Use in Collages.
   
5. Fussy Cut and Use a Blue Highlighter on Edges.
   
6. Use DuraClear Matte Gel Medium to Secure Pieces to Back Portion Of GSLC Arabian Triptych. 
   
7. While Still Wet Sprinkle with Iridescent Glitter Sparingly.
   
8. Paint Upper Portion of GSLC Arabian Triptych Frames with Ocean Blue and Turquoise Stencil Butter. Globing on.
   
9. Add Patina with Green Acrylic Paints.
   
10. Glue Upper Portion of GSLC Arabian Triptych Frames to the Back Prepared Portions with WeldBond.
    
11. Once Fully Dry add a Layer of Rangers Glossy Accents Finish to the Inside Frames.
    

Final Thoughts:

Rainbow Trout were definitely a colorful fish, along with its Golden Rainbow bothers, and Brook, Brown and Lake trout cousins. Each with own distinct color palate . They are also related to the salmon. They preferred the colder area of the streams hiding near the riffles.

Catfish were caught in deeper channels  and are bottom-dwelling opportunistic carnivores. We were told that catfish whiskers could stings but it might be an old wives tale.

Perch, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, a Sunfish and Bluegills, Suckers and  Crappies could also be caught if you knew the right fishing holes. On the rarest of occasions even a freshwater eel were a found delicacy.

I was more of a crick wader. I did enjoy hunting for Hellgrammites used for bait on sharp fishhooks. In Summertime we gather our wading boots or old sneaker, fishing net, a plastic bucket and off to the crick we would go. We’d head to our manmade dams, one person downstream the others picking up the placed rocks and shuffling downstream towards the nets. Our family also caught night crawlers after the spring rains and would keep them in a washbasin in the dirt cellar of our family farmhouse. 

Inside Appalachia Podcast reminds me of my Childhood Home: In Old School Fly Fishing Rods they meet craftsman who builds exquisite, handmade fly rods and shares his fishing with others.Inside Appalachia tells the stories of our people, and how they live today. The show is an audio tour of our rich history, food, music and culture.

Fishing Quotes:

"The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad." —A.K. Best

“A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.” —Samuel Johnson

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." —Henry David Thoreau

“I go fishing not to find myself but to lose myself.” —Joseph Monninger

Supplies: GSLC Arabian Triptych, Colorful Magazine Pictures, Pen,WeldBond Glue,Fish Images from Sticker Books, Blue HighLighter, DuraClear Matte Gel Medium, Paintbrush, Iridescent Glitter, Ocean Blue and Turquoise Stencil Butter, Green Acrylic Paints, Rangers Glossy Accents Finish

I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!

Meadow Meanderings-Going to the New Ground-A Peek-a-Boo Project

It’s been years since I have been back to my childhood home, affectionally called “The Homestead” Its been sold just as many years ago and my heart can't seem to “Go Home” anymore I'm missing my family, my people, my tribe, my heritage. Just past the weathered whitewashed woodshed there was an abandoned area  we called “The New Ground” It was a hilly land overgrown with wildflowers abounding and shrub trees and blackberry bramble bushes. An old well fed an ephemeral pond, in springtime where we collected tadpoles in vintage blue mason jars. It was a magical place. 

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Pre-fold GSLC-Little Niche Pointed, Allowing For Easier Assembly.
   
3. With a Wide Bristle Brush Randomly Paint Niches with Fuchsia Stencil Butter, Golden Quinacridone Magenta, Transparent Red Oxide, Van Dyke Brown Hue. I Want Them to Have a Weathered Worn Appeal.
   
4. Add Additional Layers with ChartreuseStencil Butter and Green Gold Acrylic Paints.
   
5. Use a Ruler to Measure Inside of GSLC Niche and Cut Pieces of Metallic Green CardStock on Paper Trimmer.
   
6. Destress Metallic Green CardStock by Gently Folding and Pressing. Dampen to make the Process Go More Easily.
   
7. Find Desired Images from Sticker Books and Fussy Cut Using Small Scissors.
   
8. Add Depth to Backgrounds By Attaching Strips of Washi Tape with WeldBond Glue.
   
9. Assemble Your Vignettes.
   
10. Add Washi Tape and Images on Outside of Outside of GSLC Niches.
11. Assemble GSLC Niches Carefully Gluing with WeldBond and Securing  Corners in Place by Pressing With Your Fingers.
12.  Once Fully Dry Add Recollection Vintage Gemstone Gemms with Dots of WeldBond Glue.
    
13. A Quick Brushing of Matte Gel Medium Will Complete the Pieces.

Final Thoughts:

We Spent all Seasons in our “New Ground”, it was borrowed land from the neighboring farm belonging to the Schriners. The man of the land was reported to be a Rodeo Clown, and the Lady of the Land Betty had the most beautiful blonde bouffant hairdos. Their cows would often get out and make their way to my momma’s lush gardens and we as kids were given the job of coaxing them back to their homeland pastures.

SpringTime was when the New Ground did its awakening. If one was careful baby grouse could be found along with spring bunnies. Ring Neck Roosters were a rarity but magnificent once discovered. Even rarer still were the Whippoorwills, singing their songs proclaiming their presence chirping out their names almost perfectly. 

Unusual Mosses and Lichens could be collected. Once Collected we would use them to make Moss Gardens for Our Easter Baskets. Sister Nean was a masterful moss menagerie maker, she also used onion peels, pressed ferns and flowers with cheese cloth to dye our Easter Eggs Some Years. Momma was the best at blowing out the inside of the eggs and then decorating them with Shrink Wrap Sleeves that shrank when dipped in boiling water. Many Years we  had an Easter Egg Tree On the front Forsythia tree, tied with bright ribbons. Brother Ralph was always on the lookout for Red-Winged Blackbird, as he declared them the harbinger of Springtime.

As Summer came it was Ralph who go off Blackberry Picking returning with plastic ice cream tubs full of the deepest purple hued berries knowing they were the sweetest. His hands would be stained appearing almost bruised from their abundant juices. Once we used the juices to fake a black eye. I am sure if the berries were ripe Nean would have used them to dye our Easter Eggs too.

Fall was the time for small game hunting in the New Ground off with the 410/22 gauge combo Shotgun Rifle. I wasn’t much of a shooter but did enjoy the quiet misty mornings in the woodlands. Dad, Ralph and Nephew Frank were the big game hunters. Once again momma would cook up their bounty with squirrel potpie, and roasted rabbit, and occasional ring neck rooster feast.

Winter was looking for a pine tree suitable for Christmastime. The Trailing Pine Mosses also made beautiful garlands to hang on the wood living room staircase. A variety of greens  and dried flowers made lovely bouquets but sister Joan found out the hard way the white berries were from the dead Poison Ivy Vines, the hairy monkey tails clinging to the trees should have been a clue. A rabbit trail led to the lower swamp land that would freeze over some winters and could be cleared to practice ice-skating. Swamp Berries were gathered to add to our harvested bouquets.  A sledding hill was a bit further on. Hours of our childhood were spent with our plastic toboggans offering entertainment and exercise to ease the times before electronics invaded our creativity. 

Over the Rhine signs of such a place in “Called Home”

Just shy of Breakin’ Down
There’s a bend in the road that I have found
Called home

Take a left at loneliness
There’s a place to find forgiveness
Called home

With clouds adrift across the sky
Like heaven’s laundry hung to dry
You slowly feel it all will be revealed

Where evening shadows come to fall
On the awful and the beautiful
Every wound you feel that needs to heal

And silence yearns to hear herself
Some long lost memory rings a bell
Called home

Old pre-Civil War brick house
Standin’ tall and straight somehow
Called home

Mailbox full of weariness
And a word of hard won happiness
Called home

Leave behind your Sunday best
You know we couldn’t care a less
Out here we’ve learned to leave the edges wild

And stories they get passed around
And laughter – it gets handed down
Read it in the lines around a smile

Our bodies’ motion comes to rest
When we are at last
Called home

I also Like these Over The Rhine Lyrics from “All of it Was Music”

We left the city far behind

We traveled light, we traveled blind

With no idea what we’d find

Or whether we could use it

The rolling fields were lined by trees

Wild flowers brought us to our knees

The poison ivy thick as thieves—

We swung an ax to bruise it

A place where we could rest awhile

Where hummingbirds could thrum for miles

And we could leave the edges wild

And let birds sing through us

Fires where all our sparks could scatter

Midnight stars could drop their ladders

I’m not sure any of it matters

But all of it was music

To those I’ve wronged, please forgive me

I hope this song helps you, believe me

The holding on the letting go

It all get buried soft and low

Don’t ask me how but I still know

All of it was music.

Supplies:  GSLC-Little Niche Pointed, Fuchsia and Chartreuse Stencil Butter, Golden Quinacridone Magenta, Transparent Red Oxide, Van Dyke Brown Hue, Green Gold, Paint Brush, Ruler, Metallic Green CardStock, Paper Trimmer, Images From Sticker Books, Scissors, Washi Tape, WeldBond Glue, Recollection Vintage Gemstone Gemms, Matte Gel Medium

I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!

Mother’s Day Gift Updated-A Peek-a-Boo Project

In times of Yore a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift would be to have family members, especially her children sit for cut out Silhouette Portraiture. In modern day the process can be shorted to these few steps:

Step 1 – Take Photo. Take a side profile photo (your phone is fine) of the child against a white wall. 

Step 2 – Upload Photo.

Step 4 – Tape Paper To Computer And Trace. 

Step 5 – Cut It Out. 

Step 6 – Glue Onto Black Paper. 

Step 7 – Glue Onto Final Background Paper. 

Step 8 – Sign And Date.

An Easy Peasy DIY Reimagining of an Ancient Tradition.

These are the inspirations for this artwork.

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Clump on Metallic Paint of Copper and Gold with an Old Paintbrush on GSLC Steampunk Lady.
   
3. While Paint is Still Well Sprinkle with Spices-I Used Cinnamon, Apple Pie Spice and Chili Powder. Spray with Cheap Hairspray to Seal.
   
4. Use Back Portion of GSLC Layered Frames Carlon to Cut Out a Metallic Blue Card Stock Back.
   
5. Use WeldBond to Glue GSLC Steampunk Lady to Metallic Blue Card Stock.
   
6. Paint Back Portion of GSLC Layered Frames Carlon With Dark Green and Brown Acrylic Paints.
   
7. Paint Top Portion of GSLC Layered Frames Carlon With Ocean Blue Stencil Butter.
   
8. Glue Top Portion to Back Portion of GSLC Layered Frames Carlon. Dry Flat and Weighted Down.
   
9. Glue GSLC Steampunk Lady Prepared Pieces to Back of Frames.
   
   
10. Use Green and Blue Paints to Add Patina to the Combined Pieces.
11. Use Ranger Glossy Accents to Seal in GSLC Steampunk Lady, When Fully Dry it Will Appear as Glass Inside the Frames.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Final Thoughts

A Steampunk Woman’s Silhouette might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it a fun nod to an olden art form that may one day come back into fashion. As it is spoken, “Everything Old is New Again”. 

Silhouette (profile) portraiture was the popular way to recreate an image of oneself or loved one before the invention and common use of photography in the mid 1800’s. During the years of 1500 and 1860, professional and amateur artists would either paint or cut profiles – using paints or scissors.

This past Summer I visited Glenstone , a unique art museum in Potomac, Maryland. This museum integrates art, architecture, and nature in a serene contemplative environment. Throughout the nearly 300 acres landscape is a form of art. The landscapes include path, trails, streams, meadows, forests and outdoor sculptures. 

One of the artists on display was Kara Walker , she takes silhouettes to  grandiose level. They covered museum walls, and are haunting and provocative. Her silhouettes depict a historical narrative one with hidden sexuality, violence and subjugation. Her silhouettes are thought provoking, boldly bringing the secrets of our nations past into light. The sharp edges of the cut papers reminds us of the broken hearts and dreams of these antebellum figures portrayed in many of her art pieces. Her artwork is witty and unsettling. 

This would be a nice poem to attach to your DIY Silhouette Portraiture if you choose to create one.

Mama's Shadow

When I was a kid (you know, last year)

I was like your shadow, always near.

While learning what the world was about

I followed your footsteps day in and day out.

There were so many things I wanted to know.

You answered my questions and helped me to grow.

All too soon Mama I will be grown

And making my way in this world on my own.

When you remember the good times we had

And wish I was with you, don't be sad.

Just stand by this picture and pretend

That I am your shadow once again.

~Wanda Atkinson

Supplies:  Supplies:  GSLC Layered Frames Carlon, GSLC Steampunk Lady, Metallic Paint Copper and Gold, Paintbrush, Spices-Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Chili Powder, Cheap Hairspray, Metallic Blue Card Stock, Scissors, WeldBond Glue, Dark Green and Brown Acrylic Paint,Blue Ocean Stencil Butter, Green And Blue Acrylic Paints, Ranger Glossy Accents

I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!